Reinier de Ridder Solidifies Title Contender Status After Defeating Robert Whittaker in the UFC
Reinier de Ridder, a prominent middleweight fighter, solidified himself as a legitimate title contender this Saturday, overcoming the renowned Robert Whittaker in an exciting match. De Ridder (21-2) secured his fourth UFC victory and his third this year, after defeating Whittaker by split decision at the UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi. Two of the three judges scored the 185-pound fight 48-47 in favor of De Ridder, while the third awarded Whittaker a 48-47 score.Despite the close official score, De Ridder outperformed Whittaker in almost all statistics. According to UFC data, De Ridder landed 169 total strikes, compared to Whittaker’s 100. In addition, he was credited with just over nine minutes of control, either against the cage or on the ground. In the second round, he hurt Whittaker with knee strikes, causing him to bleed from the mouth and nose midway through the fight. Whittaker’s best moment came in the first minute of the third round, when he knocked De Ridder down with a right hand. He connected a perfect right hand to De Ridder’s chin, and almost finished him with ground strikes immediately after. However, De Ridder managed to survive the attack and win the last two rounds. De Ridder is known for his grappling ability, with 14 of his 21 professional victories achieved by submission. Throughout the fight, he attempted takedowns at various moments, but Whittaker successfully defended 13 of 15 attempts. Ultimately, it was De Ridder’s pressure and volume that overcame Whittaker, more than his grappling skills. This has been a successful year for De Ridder, originally from the Netherlands but training at Kill Cliff FC in Florida. In January, he submitted Kevin Holland, and in May he knocked out the promising Bo Nickal, earning him his first UFC main event. For Whittaker, 34, this is the first time he has lost consecutive fights since 2013. He lost by submission to Khamzat Chimaev in October. Immediately after the fight, De Ridder requested a title shot against the winner of next month’s championship fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Chimaev at UFC 319. De Ridder entered Saturday’s fight ranked number 13 in the division. Whittaker was ranked number 5.I expected to take him down and submit him. It was amazing. Very tough, very durable, with very heavy hands.
Reinier de Ridder
I don’t want to fight anyone like this man again. It was too tough. I want to finish a guy in the first round, so maybe it would be better if I fought Khamzat or Dricus. Give me my title shot.
Reinier de Ridder
